Laïdou Group

The group Laïdou is composed only of monogamous women, who average 41 years of age and three children each. They all live in the Badialan district of Bamako, and they know one another through community ties. The group members work in small-scale commerce involving incense and clothing.

With the goal of building up their inventory, the group members decided to collaborate with the microfinance institution Soro Yiriwaso and are now on their third solidarity loan cycle.

Ms. Fanta (the woman in the red scarf) has a great reputation selling the best quality incense. She intends to use her loan to purchase 3 boxes of eau de cologne, 5 kg of magnonkissèni [a type of nut or seed], and 6 bottles of quality perfumes, at the big market of Bamako.

To make incense, the magnonkissèni is immersed in eau de cologne for at least two weeks. Then it is seasoned with perfumes. This product is obtained in this way with impeccable scents. It is ready for retail sales by going door to door. The customer base is composed mostly of women paying with cash or credit in Ouolofobougou.

With this loan, Ms. Fanta hopes to make an average monthly profit 80,000 francs CFA that will be used to reinvest in her business. Her goal is to purchase a plot of residential land with this relationship with Soro Yiriwaso.

Additional Information

Important Information

Soro Yiriwaso is a microfinance institution that works primarily in rural and semi-urban areas of Mali to provide underprivileged communities with access to financial services.The organization facilitates access for disadvantaged clients, particularly women, to new resources and services, fostering solidarity and cooperation among its clients. Kiva lenders’ funds will enable Soro Yiriwaso to expand its outreach and target even more underserved Malians involved in business and agriculture.

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.